By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy will relieve the two senior officers and the senior enlisted sailor on a U.S. warship that collided with a Philippine container ship in June off the coast of Japan, the Navy said on Thursday, A separate official report released on Thursday contained dramatic accounts of what happened when the freighter hit the USS Fitzgerald, killing seven Navy sailors. Admiral Bill Moran, deputy chief of naval operations, told reporters that the USS Fitzgerald's commander, executive officer and master chief petty officer would be removed. Multiple U.S. and Japanese investigations are still under way into how the Fitzgerald, a guided missile destroyer, and the much larger ACX Crystal container ship collided in clear weather south of Tokyo Bay in the early hours of June 17.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 11:54 pm

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — One-time Republican candidate for New York governor Carl Paladino, whose published insults of former President Barack Obama provoked a public uproar, was removed from Buffalo's school board Thursday for improperly discussing teacher contract negotiations.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 10:45 pm

CHULAFINNEE, Ala. (AP) — White Southerners who equate Old South symbols with regional pride rather than hate are even more on the defensive since neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen and other extremists became the face of the fight over Confederate monuments.

Dave Holloway said he originally did not want her to go on the trip.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 9:12 pm

An Afro-Latina journalist conducting an interview with a member of the Ku Klux Klan has said he threatened her so violently that she was concerned for her safety. Ilia Calderón, a Univision journalist with both African and Colombian heritage, agreed to visit KKK leader Chris Barker on his wooded North Carolina property. Almost immediately, Mr Barker asked her why she didn’t “go back” to her country of origin.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) on Thursday became the first elected Republican lawmaker to call for the firing of White House strategist Steve Bannon.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 9:06 pm

New York authorities are taking steps to remove two busts of Confederate commanders from a "Hall of Fame" as America's most populous city joins others in erasing symbols of the pro-slavery Civil War South. Bronx Community College said the bust of General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and another of one of his top generals, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, would be removed in two to three days. "We want to make it sure we get it done quickly, but without causing damage," said Karla Williams, executive legal counsel at the College, which is part of The City University of New York.

Jordan Dinsmore's suspected attackers have been arrested.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 8:49 pm

Barcelona's most famous street was packed with tourists when a van drove into the crowds on a sunny Thursday afternoon, leaving scenes of carnage and panic. People were crying," Xavi Perez, who sells sports magazines just 100 metres away from the attack, told AFP. Among the foreigners caught up on Las Ramblas was Aamar Anwar, a renowned Scottish human rights lawyer in Barcelona for a conference and had been walking down the boulevard when the terror unfolded.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 7:52 pm

The "wrong" actions of the United States on Taiwan, its South China Sea patrols and deployment of an advanced anti-missile system in South Korea have had a large, negative influence on military trust, a senior Chinese officer said on Thursday. Fan Changlong, a vice chairman of China's powerful Central Military Commission, told Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, that mutual trust mechanisms between the two militaries had continued to improve, China's defense ministry said.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 7:22 pm

One of the vans used to carry out the murderous rampage at the heart of the city was rented by a man who identified himself as Driss Oukabir, Spanish police said. The white Fiat van was rented in the town of Santa Perpetua de la Mogoda, 16 miles north of Barcelona, it was claimed. Scores of innocent victims were mowed down as a van ploughed down the Spanish city’s hugely popular Las Ramblas shortly after 5pm. After careering off the road, the driver then sped through crowds of tourists for up to 500m, sending pedestrians flying, before coming to a halt outside the kosher Maccabi restaurant. At least 13 people were killed and 100 injured. Spanish reports initially said that Driss Oukabir was being questioned on suspicion of involvement in the attack. But on Thursday night the mayor of Ripoll, the town where he lived, 70 miles north of Barcelona, said that a man identifying himself as Driss Oukabir went to his local police station and reported that his documentation had been stolen. Jordi Munell, the mayor, said that the man had insisted that he had been in Ripoll at the time of the attack and went to the local police station as soon as he saw his images broadcast in the media. Police suspect that Driss Oukabir’s younger brother, named by Spanish media as 18-year-old Moussa, could have been involved. An image taken from the Facebook profile of a Driss Oukabir Soprano. Credit: Facebook The older Oukabir was born in Morocco in 1989 and legally resident in Spain, according to media reports. Spanish newspaper El Pais said he was known to police and spent time in prison in Figueres, Catalonia, before being released in 2012. However, in what is believed to be his Facebook profile, he says he was from Marseille, southern France, but living in Ripoll. Anti-terrorism sources had earlier told El Pais that they believed Oukabir arrived in Barcelona from Morocco on August 13. They said he was known to have spent time in Madrid this year and police were attempting to work out where he stayed and who he met there. According to police audio recordings, the driver of the van was 1m 70cm tall, dressed in a white shirt with blue stripes. Police were said to have found a Spanish passport inside the van. The Facebook profile picture of a Driss Oukabir Soprano from Ripoll was changed on Tuesday to one depicting him sunbathing on an unidentified beach. An image taken from the Facebook profile of a Driss Oukabir Soprano Credit: Facebook Wearing white headphones, he posed for the picture on a blue towel, which was laid out next to a pink one. The profile states that he has been in a relationship since December 2013 and contains links to more than 700 friends, several of whom were likely relatives who share the same Oukabir surname. Within minutes of his name being released by police, the profile was flooded with vitriolic messages, condemning him for any apparent involvement. The profile was later removed from the internet. How the Barcelona terror attack unfolded 01:10 Over the last few weeks, Oukabir posted links to several hip hop music videos on YouTube. One of them, he described as being “for my brother”. In one video, an all-boy band, who sing in French, are seen celebrating and singing about vodka. In another, they revel in their love for expensive sports cars and women. Police said they had made two arrests following the attack, but said neither of those arrested was driving the van.

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to condemn the removal of “beautiful statues and monuments” around the United States.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 6:19 pm

US President Donald Trump has condemned a recent van attack in Barcelona, vowing to do "whatever is necessary to help" in the aftermath. A van ploughed into pedestrians on Barcelona's busy "Las Ramblas" thoroughfare on Thursday evening, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 50. Barcelona authorities said they are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 5:39 pm

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African model's claims of assault have drawn attention to Zimbabwe's increasingly outspoken first lady Grace Mugabe, who is a possible successor to her 93-year-old husband. As President Robert Mugabe flew to neighboring South Africa in part to deal with the crisis, Zimbabwe's government requested diplomatic immunity for the first lady and South African police issued a "red alert" to prevent her from leaving.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 5:36 pm

U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday joined calls for the immediate removal of Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol, shortly after President Donald Trump expressed regret over statues and monuments being removed in some cities. "There is no room for celebrating the violent bigotry of the men of the Confederacy in the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol or in places of honor across the country," Pelosi said in a statement. A spokesman for Republican U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was up to U.S. states to determine which statues were displayed on their behalf in the Capitol building.

Pakistani female-education campaigner Malala Yousafzai is headed to Oxford University to study philosophy, politics and economics, or PPE, this fall, she confirmed Thursday on Twitter.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 2:35 pm

Far-right “Pizzagate” conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec tweeted videos and photos Wednesday showing him leading a group of people protesting a Vladimir Lenin statue in Seattle. Video shows Posobiec leading the group in a chant of “tear it down, tear it down” as the protesters — wearing “Make America Great Again” caps and holding placards bearing phrases like “Lenin is Hitler” and “Alt Left Hate” — marched around the statue.It appears that about 7 people, including Posobiec, attended the demonstration. Trump Supporters Demand Marxist Statue of Lenin Must Be Torn Down pic.twitter. ...

Posted: August 17, 2017, 12:22 pm

A white supremacist who helped organise the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has appeared on camera crying as he describes his fear of arrest. Chris Cantwell, a racist who previously claimed he and others would "f***ing kill" anti-fascist demonstrators for interfering with their right to express their views, sobs uncontrollably in the clip. The blogger was featured in a Vice News documentary filmed before, during and after the rally in Virginia turned violent.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 12:03 pm

A 10-year-old rape victim whose plea for an abortion was rejected by India's Supreme Court has given birth to a baby girl, a doctor said Thursday. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was raped several times allegedly by an uncle who has since been arrested. Both the girl and her baby are doing fine," doctor Dasari Harish told AFP by phone from the northern Indian city of Chandigarh.

What do you do when neo-Nazis keep flooding your town?

Posted: August 17, 2017, 9:17 am

The white-nationalist forum Stormfront hosts discussions on a wide range of topics, from politics to guns to The Lord of the Rings. And of particular and enduring interest: genetic ancestry tests. For white nationalists, DNA tests are a way to prove their racial purity. Of course, their results don’t always come back that way. And how white nationalists try to explain away non-European ancestry is rather illuminating of their beliefs.

The court papers claimed Yewande Oteh of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, decided to sue the airline after it failed to prevent or investigate the incident.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 7:10 am

Two UN investigators killed in March likely died at the hands of Congolese militia members, a UN inquiry found, adding that further investigation will be required to "fully ascertain the identity" of those involved. Michael Sharp, an American, and Zaida Catalan, a Swedish-Chilean dual national, were found murdered in March in the Democratic Republic of Congo while on a UN mission investigating violence and mass graves in the country's restive Kasai province. "A group of Congolese, likely militia members from the Kasai Central province, was responsible," read the board's executive summary, obtained Wednesday by AFP.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 5:25 am

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bones found in a rural area in the spring are those of a 17-year-old northwest Missouri girl, family members and authorities said Wednesday, bringing them closer to solving a 10-year mystery that began when the teen walked out of her high school and disappeared.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 1:02 am

WASHINGTON — Let’s be clear about what President Donald Trump was up to Tuesday during his press conference in Trump Tower, and what his longer-range plan is for surviving, if not prospering, in the White House for at least four years.

Posted: August 17, 2017, 12:11 am

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A man who says his livelihood in agriculture has been nearly ruined by people who entered the country illegally to work on local farms is facing charges he sprayed liquid manure on a marked U.S. Customs and Border Protection car after confronting an agent about immigration enforcement.

It's right out of a TV show.

Posted: August 16, 2017, 10:10 pm

Lee Boyd Malvo, who as a teenager participated in the sniper attacks that killed 10 people and terrorized the Washington region, will not get a new sentence in Maryland, a judge said in a ruling released Wednesday.

Barack Obama's post Charlottesville tweet just broke the record for number of likes. How did Obama crack the social media code?

Posted: August 16, 2017, 6:20 pm

If you're trying to be frugal and find a cheap deal on a pair of glasses for the solar eclipse, good luck. The price of the protective glasses continues to soar, even among concerns over sales of potentially useless glasses. On Amazon, which seems to be the marketplace of choice for eclipse shoppers, prices for glasses have more than tripled over the last two weeks for the website's most popular protective glasses, according to Wikibuy. Wikibuy, which tracks prices through its Google Chrome extension and through a real time price tracker on its website, shared data with
Mashable on the pricing of the 4-Pack Premium ISO and CE Certified Lunt Solar Kid Size Eclipse Viewing Glasses on Amazon, which Wikibuy said are its most popular. "From what our community has seen on Amazon, it appears that Amazon prices on eclipse glasses have more than tripled over the last two weeks," Matt Gratt, Wikibuy's Director of Growth, wrote in an email. "As always, consumers can find the true best prices on items by consulting price history tools and multiple stores around the internet." While the 4-Pack Premium ISO and CE Certified Lunt Solar Kid Size Eclipse Viewing Glasses are currently on backorder through Amazon Prime, one seller
is selling them for a mere $249. (Yeah, price tag made us cringe too.) Eclipse glasses are also four of the top five product searches on Amazon and Wikibuy, Gratt said. Based on the company's data, prices seemed to fluctuate, but remained pretty steady for awhile, but began to steadily climb since the beginning of August. And it's not just Amazon — an analysis of pricing for packs of the glasses from third party retailers found that prices have more than doubled for new five and 10 packs since early August. SEE ALSO: Where to buy your eclipse glasses before the total solar eclipse on August 21 The current price for a 10-pack of CE Certified Safe Solar Eclipse Glasses sold through a third party is $129.95, according to Camel Camel Camel, which tracks pricing of items on Amazon and through third party retailers. For a five pack of premium ISO and CE Certified Lunt Solar Eclipse Glasses from a third party vendor, the current price sits at $39.95. But while the prices may not be ideal, if you're planning on viewing the celestial event, you'll need a pair of these glasses to view the eclipse without harming your eyes. A list of reliable vendors for eclipse glasses can be found here. Or you can check out this NASA video, which will show you how to view the eclipse without those fancy-shmancy glasses. WATCH: Here’s how many people in the U.S. will possibly see the eclipse

Rachel Maddow reports on the surprising departure of Peter Strzok, a prominent counter-espionage investigator who had been working on Robert Mueller's Trump Russia investigation.

Posted: August 16, 2017, 6:10 pm

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R), like President Donald Trump, has said that both white supremacists and counterprotesters are to blame for the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.

Posted: August 16, 2017, 5:55 pm

"Despite their best efforts, her health and appetite significantly declined over the past several days despite continually tailored treatments,” SeaWorld said in a statement. There are now 10 orcas in the San Diego theme park, including five males and five females.

Posted: August 16, 2017, 4:46 pm

Posted: August 16, 2017, 4:46 pm

President Trump’s manufacturing council isn’t getting much work done, AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka said after leaving the council following Trump’s highly criticized response to the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Posted: August 16, 2017, 3:09 pm

By Parisa Hafezi and Tuvan Gumrukcu ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish and Iranian military leaders held talks on Wednesday over cooperation in the Syrian conflict and counter-terrorism, officials said, during a rare visit to NATO-member Turkey by the Islamic Republic's military chief of staff. Turkey's ties with Washington have been strained by U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, and the visit by Iranian General Mohammad Baqeri is the latest sign that Ankara is increasing cooperation with other powers such as Iran and Russia. Baqeri met his Turkish counterpart on Tuesday and Turkey's Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli on Wednesday in what Turkish media said was the first visit by an Iranian chief of staff since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

Posted: August 16, 2017, 2:27 pm

Hope Hicks, the former Trump campaign spokesperson and a top presidential aide, has been named interim White House Communications Director following the dramatic departure of former Director Anthony Scaramucci. Ms Hicks, who is Mr Trump’s longest-serving political aide – and one of his most trusted – will fill the position while the White House looks for a permanent replacement. The 28-year-old Greenwich, Connecticut native started working for the Trump family 2014, when Ivanka Trump hired her away from her public relations job at Hiltzik Strategies.

According to certain guidelines, hair conditioner could bind radioactive material to your hair after exposure.

Posted: August 16, 2017, 10:04 am

Three women suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance to a camp for displaced people in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, killing 28 people and wounding 82, local sources said. The attack -- the latest in a string of assaults in the troubled region -- took place in the town of Mandarari, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, said Baba Kura, a member of a vigilante force set up to fight jihadists. "Three female bombers triggered their explosive outside of the IDP (internally displaced persons) camp... killing 28 people and wounding 82 others," Kura said.